Michael Vick's Dogfighting Co-Defendant Shot At Vick's Birthday Party

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Michael Vick was not involved or present when a shooting took place outside a nightclub where he had celebrated his birthday, his lawyer said Friday.

Larry Woodward, one of the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback’s attorneys in his federal dogfighting case, said Vick wasn’t at the club when the shooting took place just after 2 a.m. Friday outside the club Guadalajara at Town Center shopping center.

At a football camp he is holding at Hampton University, Vick was asked by a reporter Friday afternoon whether he had any comment on the incident.

“Watch what you do. Pick and choose your friends carefully. You just can’t put yourself in vulnerable situations,” Vick said.

The shooting victim was taken to a hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening, Virginia Beach Police spokesman Adam Bernstein said. However, several news outlets identified him as Quanis Phillips, one of the co-defendants in the federal dogfighting case that landed Vick an 18-month federal prison sentence.

Phillips, who was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in the dogfighting operation, was admitted to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital overnight, health system spokesman Dale Gauding said. He was discharged early Friday afternoon. Gauding said he was not able to discuss the nature of Phillips’ injuries because of privacy laws.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is looking into the shooting.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Vick after being suspended for two years last July, and said at the time that Vick’s margin for error would be “extremely limited.”

A statement from the Eagles said the team was still gathering facts about the incident and would not comment further.